I made the shirtfrock in a delicious emerald pongee fabric. I've never come across this fabric in Scotland but it feels a bit like sandwashed silk. It's super, super soft to the touch, drapes beautifully and is a nice spring weight. The colour is an emerald green (which is a surprisingly hard colour to accurately capture in photographs--it's probably closest in colour to the first photo).

The shirtfrock has front and back yokes with the classic 1940s gathers. I used some beautiful yellow abalone buttons. I also had a 1940s bow belt buckle that I had been saving up for the perfect project. In fact, it might have been the yellow buckle that was the impetus for this dress. I already had the buttons in my stash and I realised they matched the buckle perfectly. I love it when that happens!

We went to St. Patrick's Parish in Edinburgh for the photos. The church is 150 years old and is just steps from the Royal Mile. It's cleverly hidden away and you could easily walk straight by it without seeing it!! I just love it!

Overall, the pattern was fantastic to work with. I made my usual adjustments which included adding approximately 2 inches in length to the sleeves, shortening the hem by about 2 inches, taking the shoulders in by about 1/2 inch and lowering the neckline (I only used five buttons instead of the seven shown on the pattern envelope). I also added shoulder pads to the dress.

I got the adorable 1940s tilt hat from the Flatiron Vintage Etsy shop. I just love it and plan to make several more outfits to go with it!! I was searching high and low for some green shoes to match the dress but ended up styling the dress with my Ness shoes and matching purse. I'm still looking for some green vintage (or new retro styled shoes). I've fallen in love with the Miss L Fire 'Mildred' shoes but it's hard to tell if they would be the right shade of green and they haven't been stocked in my size.

Today was a mix of weather--from sunny to hailing! It started to rain towards the end of the day and David snapped a photo of me with my umbrella. It's crazy how perfectly it matches the colours in my dress:

YAY! I am super happy with my dress...I plan on wearing it a lot! It's the perfect weight for that in-between weather that we seem to be having a lot of lately.

49 comments

Gorgeous! The drape of that fabric looks heavenly. I wish I could touch it! ...in a non-weird way haha! I also love the buttons and your super amazing hat :) Please ad a photo or two to the Sew For Victory Flickr pool so others can see your awesome, awesome dress!

Wow what a dress! Green IS really really hard to match! Its one of those colours, if you dont get the exact right shade, it looks odd.

Those early decade 40s patterns have such high necks dont they? And the pattern envelope rarely shows just how high it is. I'm making up the pattern I won from your blog and it's a similar case! Fantastic fit though!

Gorgeous, Debi!! Just perfect, both for the day and in general! I love it styled with all that cheery yellow, too. Mel got me a pair of green Miss L Fires (a different style) for Christmas, and I need to sew up something to wear with them, and you're inspiring me to do so even more!

Also, you have the best umbrella, is it funny that I'm totally jealous of your umbrella? lol